NEW YORK (AP) – Animal control officers on Long Island say they confiscated 13 fighting roosters from a home in Copiague after a neighbor reported the birds crowing in the afternoon and an especially scrawny one pecking around the backyard next door.

Suffolk Couty ASPCA chief Roy Gross says the birds had been “prepped and ready” for combat with shaved chests and spurs filed sharply to allow for spikes to be attached.

The aggressive roosters were kept in individual cages and were taken away in burlap bags on Saturday to be held as evidence. The home’s 33-year-old occupant was held for questioning. He was not identified by authorities.

AP-ES-06-01-08 1211EDT